Bar owners say Glenwood City police chief harassing bartenders

By LeAnn R. Ralph

GLENWOOD CITY — The owners of Aaron and Lisa’s Boondocks appeared before the Glenwood City Council at Monday night’s meeting to say that Glenwood City Police Chief Robert Darwin is harassing their bartenders.

Aaron Moede said they had left Glenwood City to attend the state football tournament in Madison, and that while they were gone, Police Chief Darwin had come into Boondocks and had harassed their bartenders.

 Aaron Moede said he had gotten statements from people who were in the bar and that the police chief’s visit is on videotape.

Moede also said he has been harassed about having music outside, although other establishments in Glenwood City play music on the sidewalk frequently.

“There’s just so many things … this needs to be looked at,” he said.

No laws were broken, and the police chief was in Boondocks for 20 minutes and was not behaving professionally, Moede said.

Moede asked that Police Chief Darwin resign or be fired from his job.

Moede said he has already lost one bartender, and another bartender is afraid of retaliation and being harassed.

One of the agenda items for the city council was approving bartender operator’s licenses.

Moede said the council did not need to take action on the application from Laura Hoyt because Hoyt now refuses to work at Boondocks.

Hoyt was working with another licensed bartender on the night in question, he said, noting that it was Hoyt’s first night on the job.

Moede told the city council that if they did not act on his complaint, he could close down the Boondocks.

Several city council members wondered if Moede had submitted a written complaint to the city clerk.

If Moede will write up a complaint and give it to the city clerk, the complaint can be referred to the city council’s personnel committee, said Nancy Hover, city council member.

Lisa Moede told the city council that Boondocks now needs another operator’s license because they had lost a bartender. She also said that the usual time period of ten days that it takes for a license to be issued is too long to wait.

Although Police Chief Darwin attended the city council meeting, council members did not ask him to comment on the Moedes’ complaint.